Trees, Roofs and the Way In
Garden trees and street trees
Grey squirrels move at height wherever they can. Trees planted behind these houses when they were built now stand well above the ridge, and the street trees along the pavement bring squirrels to the front of the property, over a front drive and onto a garage roof. A branch does not have to touch the tiles: they jump further than people credit, and a drainpipe, a thick climber or rough brickwork covers the rest of the distance.
The roof edge of an interwar house
The weak points are all along the edges. Deep timber fascia and soffit boards go soft at the ends where a gutter has overflowed for a few winters; the small tiled roof over a bay window makes a convenient landing stage; a tile can lift at the hip or along the verge; and the junction where a rear extension roof runs into the main wall is often the least finished part of the building. Standing in the garden at first light watching the roofline is the cheapest survey there is, and how squirrels get into a roof helps you work out which edge yours is using.
Lofts, Conversions and Where the Noise Comes From
Converting a loft does not remove the roof space; it leaves voids behind the eaves cupboards, above the new ceiling and around a dormer, reached through a small hatch that is usually inside a wardrobe. That is why the sound in a converted house often comes through a bedroom wall rather than from directly above. In an unconverted loft the evidence is easier to find: insulation dragged into heaps, stored boxes opened up, pipe lagging pulled apart and the lid of a cold water tank chewed. The damage squirrels cause in a loft lists what to look at, and any cable with damaged insulation is a matter for an electrician rather than a judgement call — squirrels and wiring explains why.
Settling what is actually up there
Rats and mice use roof spaces too and need a different booking, so it is worth being sure first. Grey squirrels are busy in daylight, loudest in the couple of hours after dawn and again before dusk, and the sound has weight to it — running, dragging and the occasional thump — rather than the light scratching of a rodent at midnight. Telling squirrels from rats in a loft goes through the other clues, and if it turns out to be rodents, rat control or mouse control is the service you want.
The Order of Events
Each stage waits on the one before it, and taking them out of turn is what stretches a straightforward job into a long one.
- Settle what is in the roof: the time of day and the weight of the noise are the best evidence you have
- Book the £280 trapping service, saying when the noise started and which part of the ceiling it is over
- Leave the opening exactly as it is and stay out of the roof space while the work is running
- Wait until the roof is confirmed quiet before anything is closed, because a squirrel shut in will chew its way out, sometimes down into a room, and in the breeding months there may be young that cannot leave on their own
- Have the roofer make the repair as soon as the loft is empty, renewing any timber that has gone soft along the same edge
- Cut back the branches that give access last of all, and only where the tree is yours to cut
How long squirrel control takes depends on the roof, the number of ways in and how settled the squirrels are.
Lining Up the Roofer
The repair itself is roofing or carpentry rather than a tube of filler: renewing a soft fascia or soffit end, bedding a tile back at the hip, making good where an extension roof meets the wall. Find someone while the squirrels are still going in and out, so you can point at the exact spot and have the work follow straight on from a quiet loft instead of weeks later. What a lasting repair involves is worth reading before you brief anyone. If the house is half of a pair, mention it to next door as well, since the roof was built as one structure and the way in may be above their half of it.
Timing Through the Year
Squirrels can move into a roof at any point, but late winter into spring is the main spell, when a female looks for somewhere dry to raise young, and there is a second one in late summer. Calling as soon as the noise starts in late winter gives the best chance of dealing with adults before a litter arrives. A roof used earlier in the year will be tried again while the gap is still open, which is most of why squirrels return to the same loft.
Releasing a Grey Squirrel Is an Offence
Grey squirrels are an invasive non-native species. Once one has been caught it is against the law to release it into the wild or to allow it to escape, so taking a cage down to the park is not something anyone may lawfully do, however kindly meant. The legal position on release states it plainly, the Brent squirrel guide covers the damage side, and Squirrel Control Brent has the borough-wide page. Neighbouring Sudbury has the same kind of tree-lined family gardens behind its houses.
